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ABOUT THE AWARD
Jan. 27,
2010
BOSTON (MA) -- CollegeInsider.com will honor former Illinois and
New Mexico State head coach Lou Henson with the creation of the
Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award. The award will be
presented annually to the top mid-major player in division I
college basketball.
“Coach Henson is one of the finest people you could ever hope to
meet,” says Joe Dwyer, co-founder of CollegeInsider.com. “His
accomplishments as a coach should have gotten him enshrined in
the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame a long time ago, but he is
certainly a hall of famer as a person.”
The 78-year old Henson coached for 41 years. When he retired in
2005 he was the sixth all-time in career Division I wins with
779.
Henson is the winningest coach in Illinois basketball history
with 423 victories. During his 21 seasons (1975-1996), Henson
led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including
12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989.
Henson, who is also the all-time winningest coach in New Mexico
State history with 289 victories, is one of only 11 coaches to
take two different schools to the NCAA Final Four. His teams
have made 19 NCAA appearances and four NIT appearances.
“I am happy to receive the prestigious honor of having this
award in my name,” says Henson. “Furthermore I am very pleased
to have my name associated with CollegeInsider.com. This is a
great honor.”
Following his graduation, Henson immediately landed a coaching
position at Las Cruces High School. After two years as the
junior varsity coach, he became the head coach. He posted a
record of 145-23 and won state championship in 1959, 1960 and
1961.
At the age of 30, Henson moved into the collegiate ranks as head
coach at Hardin-Simmons University in 1962. In four years, he
compiled a record of 67-36 with a pair of 20-win seasons, each
of which represented the school record for victories in a
season.
Henson then returned to his alma mater, New Mexico State, in
1966 and became the head coach of the Aggies for the next nine
seasons. During that time, Henson led the Aggies to six NCAA
appearances, including five straight from 1966-71. The 1969-70
season was a special year for Henson and the Aggies as NMSU made
their first and only Final Four appearance, tallying a 27-3
overall record in the process.
After retiring from Illinois, Henson returned to New Mexico
State as he was named the Aggies' interim head coach on October
17, 1997, just two days before the start of preseason practice.
In a rare move, Henson originally agreed to coach the team on a
pro bono basis, and later settled on a salary of $1 a month
during the 1997-98 season. After leading the Aggies to an 18-12
record, Henson had the interim lifted from his title as he
accepted a four-year contract.
Henson is a member of the New Mexico State, Illinois and
Hardin-Simmons Halls of Fame. In 2002, New Mexico State honored
Henson by naming the Pan American Center’s parquet floor, ‘Lou
Henson Court’.
“Coach Henson’s achievements rank among the all time greatest
coaches,” says La Salle head coach John Giannini who began his
coaching career as a graduate assistant under Henson at
Illinois. “For many people who have played and coached with him,
he is known as a family man and mentor. He embodies the
dedication to excellence and personal character that defines
what is best about college basketball. Any award bearing his
name is a great honor.”
Giannini is one of the 21 members of the voting panel, which
will determine the Lou Henson Award recipient. Others on the
panel include former players and coaches like Stephen Bardo
(ESPN), Jimmy Collins (Illinois-Chicago), Rob Evans (Arizona
State), Steve Fisher (San Diego State), Marvin Menzies (New
Mexico State) and Scott Nagy (South Dakota State).
Players eligible for the award will consist of teams from the
following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big
South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents,
Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley,
Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland,
Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.
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